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Just a quick post as a follow up to my Mexicanish Eggs. This recipe uses the same beans and pepper-onion stirfry I made for the breakfast version, with some sliced avocado and simply cooked chicken breasts. Utilizing the same staples I make on the weekend throughout the week keeps making healthy meals all week a breeze. Sunday meal prep for the win!

“As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

I just finished re-reading Tim Ferriss’s “4 Hour Body” book, and this quote really jumped out at me in the book. I was recently discussing healthy eating with a fellow preventive health enthusiast, and we were saying how when it comes down to it, any diet will work. The hard part is consistency, and picking a diet that realistically works in your life. Tim advocates what he calls the “Slow Carb Diet,” on which you basically eat vegetables, protein, and beans. The beans are for complex carbs and filling fiber, and they help you stick to the diet by keeping you full. He advocates for 1 “cheat day” a week where you eat anything and everything you want to keep leptin (the hormone that makes you feel full) levels high for the week. For me this fits with how I like to eat, and I’m planning on sharing some recipes in the coming weeks that will allow you to experiment with the principles to see if they work for you. First up, Huevos Cocina de Kaleigh or, if you prefer, Mexicanish Eggs.

With September comes a multitude of pumpkin spiced something recipes. Now don’t get me wrong, I fully plan on getting on the PSL-inspired recipe train… but not yet. It’s still hot, my AC is still running, and we will have more than enough cold dark evenings begging for warming and comforting dishes. For now, let’s cool off with some homemade iced lemon green tea.

My little sister is pretty cool. She is also not so little anymore. For so long, I took for granted the fact that she looked up to me. I was the cool one. I introduced her to stuff. I helped her. Now, the tables have unfortunately turned. I’m constantly asking her what things mean / where she got something / what app is that? Maybe it should make me feel old, but it’s actually so special to me that now we lean on each other. We were always sisters, but as she’s gotten older we’ve become great friends. And friends rely on each other for things. One of the things she looks to me for is cooking advice. When my mom was visiting me a few weeks ago, the three of us were chatting on FaceTime and we had so much fun walking her through cooking a new dish for the first time.

My best memories of growing up involve spending time with my cousins. My family is pretty big, and I’m impressed by how my parents and their siblings, despite living in separate cities, found the time to keep us all together. One of my cuzzies, Trinati, has been on my mind a lot lately because she’s expecting a baby (girl!!!) soon. Growing up, I loved when she pretended she was my big sister (we were both blue-eyed blondes). I even had myself basically convinced that even though we are related on our mothers’ side, her dad’s mom was my grandma too. Or my YiaYia to be exact. Toula was an amazing Greek woman who we were all obsessed with. I have so many memories of her. She taught my mom how to make this chicken dish, that I am excited to now share with you all!

I like to listen to podcasts. I listen to them before bed, in the car, while I’m getting stuff done around the house. It’s my thing. Lately I’ve gotten into “Surprisingly Awesome,” where Adam Davidson & Adam McKay “reveal the hidden awesomeness in everyday things. Guess what? The podcast is pretty awesome. Last week I was listening to the episode “Broccoli,” and learned that broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens and kohlrabi are all part of the same plant family brassica oleracea.

With the weather getting colder, it’s nice to get to enjoy the warmer, heartier meals like soups and stews that you don’t always feel up to in the summer. This quick, clean-eating take on Italian wedding soup is about to change the game. There is basically no prep involved and you get a delicious, portable, protein and veggie packed lunch.

This Moroccan Chicken recipe is inspired from one of my first cookbooks ever, College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends by Megan & Jill Carle. The book was a really great way to start cooking because the recipes require minimal special tools, use inexpensive ingredients, and they have a whole chapter devoted to “food for the masses,” so you can feed your family or have this for dinner yourself with enough left over for a week’s worth of brown bag lunches. Many of the recipes in the book centre around refined carbohydrates so I’ve moved away from using it a bit, but this healthy recipe isn’t going anywhere.

You may have noticed that a lot of my recent recipes have been vegetarian. I definitely am leaning towards a Blue Zone / China Study – approved diet these days, but these diets do have room for meat, and I still do eat it. I’ve been getting requests for more meat recipes and I do not want to disappoint!

I recognize that this is very similar to last week’s post – but the zoodle (zuchinni-noodle, duh) / courgetti (courgette spaghetti, obvs) noodle option for spaghetti is tied in brilliance and flavour to the roasted spaghetti squash.